Saltsjöbanan
Encyclopedia
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden is a locality situated in Nacka Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 8,937 inhabitants in 2005. It is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea.- History :...
in Nacka
Nacka
Nacka is the municipal seat of Nacka Municipality and part of Stockholm urban area in Sweden. The municipality's name harks back to an 16th century industrial operation established by the Crown at Nacka farmstead where conditions for water mills are good...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It is 18.5 kilometres (11.5 mi) in length and has eighteen stations in use. An average of 19,600 journeys are made on an ordinary workday. The line is mainly single track, and is isolated from Sweden's national railway network, although both are built to compatible standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
.
History
K.A. WallenbergKnut Agathon Wallenberg
Knut Agathon Wallenberg, , was a Swedish banker and politician, he was also Knight of the Order of the Seraphim. He was son of the banker and politician André Oscar Wallenberg, and his wife Catharina Wilhelmina Andersson. In 1878, he married Alice Nickelsen...
largely initiated and financed the project. The railway's initial purpose was to offer a quick way for stressed-out Stockholm residents to get to planned beaches and recreational facilities around Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden is a locality situated in Nacka Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 8,937 inhabitants in 2005. It is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea.- History :...
. The construction of the railway went faster than expected, but turned out to be very expensive, mostly due to the problems building the last stretch into the city, which involved a lot of tedious work with explosives to even out the ground and to build two long tunnels, one of which was the country's longest at the time of the construction.
Saltsjöbanan was inaugurated on 1 July 1893 and was operated with steam locomotives until 1910 after which the lines were gradually electrified (circa 1 kV
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
). The branch which runs from Igelboda to Solsidan opened in 1913.
Initially the rail was operated by Järnvägs AB Stockholm-Saltsjön, and carried a great deal of profitable freight traffic. This diminished with time, and by 1960s it was no longer breaking even, and a complete closure was considered. However, the Stockholm County Council took over the line in 1969, and today it is owned by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik
Storstockholms Lokaltrafik
Storstockholms Lokaltrafik AB, , commonly referred to as SL, is the organisation running all of the land based public transport systems in Stockholm County....
(SL).
To this day, the route remains mostly unchanged since the early 1900s, but has seen slight alterations at its outer ends. In the 1940s, the western end was extended by about 400 metres (437.4 yd), moving its Stockholm terminus from Stadsgården to the more centrally located Slussen
Slussen
Slussen is an area of central Stockholm, connecting Södermalm and Gamla stan. The area is named after the locks between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The locks themselves allow passage between these two bodies of water...
interchange. Conversely, the eastmost end, which once ran all the way to the Saltsjöbaden shore, for convenient change to archipelago
Stockholm archipelago
The Stockholm archipelago is the largest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
, now stops about 200 metres (218.7 yd) in.
Vehicles
As of 2009, the trains running on Saltsjöbanan are sets of two or three cars. They are made by ASEA, models C10 and C11, and are slight modifications to an older model of Stockholm MetroStockholm Metro
The Stockholm Metro is a metro system in Stockholm, Sweden. The first line opened in 1950, and today the system has 100 stations in use, of which 47 are underground and 53 above ground. There are seven lines numbered from 10 to 19, in three groups identified by a color: the Green, Red and Blue lines...
train.
Lines
Slussen
Slussen is an area of central Stockholm, connecting Södermalm and Gamla stan. The area is named after the locks between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The locks themselves allow passage between these two bodies of water...
to Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden
Saltsjöbaden is a locality situated in Nacka Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 8,937 inhabitants in 2005. It is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea.- History :...
, while a branch line connects the intermediate station Igelboda to Solsidan. At Slussen it meets the Stockholm Metro
Stockholm Metro
The Stockholm Metro is a metro system in Stockholm, Sweden. The first line opened in 1950, and today the system has 100 stations in use, of which 47 are underground and 53 above ground. There are seven lines numbered from 10 to 19, in three groups identified by a color: the Green, Red and Blue lines...
’s Red and Green lines.
| Line | Stretch | Length | Stations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Slussen Slussen Slussen is an area of central Stockholm, connecting Södermalm and Gamla stan. The area is named after the locks between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The locks themselves allow passage between these two bodies of water... – Saltsjöbaden Saltsjöbaden Saltsjöbaden is a locality situated in Nacka Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 8,937 inhabitants in 2005. It is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea.- History :... |
15.6 km | 14 |
| 26 | Igelboda – Solsidan | 2.9 km | 5 |
| Total | 18.5 km | 18 | |
Plans
SL now plan to convert the Saltsjöbanan to a light railLight rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
line, linked with the Tvärbanan
Tvärbanan
Tvärbanan is a light rail line in the suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden. Its name literally translated into English is Crossways line. It links together many bus and rail lines crossways through its connections with the southern and western subway branches of the Stockholm Metro and the Stockholm...
line and using similar trams. The project will involve converting the Sickla–Slussen stretch to double track, building a long tunnel and a new high bridge over the Hammarby Canal
Hammarby Sjö
Hammarby Sjö is a watercourse in central Stockholm, Sweden. Separating Stockholm City Centre from South Stockholm, or, more locally, Norra Hammarbyhamnen on eastern Södermalm from Södra Hammarbyhamnen, it connects Saltsjön to Årstasjön.Covering a surface of 34 hectare and having an average depth...
(replacing the current single-track Danviksbro
Danviksbro
Danviksbron or, alternatively, Danviksbro is a bascule bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden, connecting the eastern end of Södermalm to the eastern municipality Nacka. Under the bridge, the canal Hammarbykanalen carries the water of Hammarby Sjö over to Saltsjön...
, which is a moveable bridge
Moveable bridge
A moveable bridge is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. An advantage of making bridges movable include lower price, due to the absence of high piers and long approaches. The principal disadvantage is that the traffic on the bridge must be halted when it is opened for passages...
). Rising cost estimates (now about 3 bn SEK) have delayed the construction start, which is now planned to be around 2012.
See also
- History of rail transport in SwedenHistory of rail transport in SwedenThe history of Sweden's railways has included both state-owned and private railways.-The early years 1845-1914:In 1845 the Swedish count Adolf Eugene von Rosen received permission to build railways in Sweden. He started building a railway between the town of Köping and Hult...
- Public transport in StockholmPublic transport in StockholmPublic transport in Stockholm consists of bus, metro, regional/suburban rail, light rail, tram and archipelago boat operation in Stockholm County, Sweden. The bus and rail is organized by Storstockholms Lokaltrafik , SL, which is owned by the Stockholm County Council...
- Rail transport in SwedenRail transport in SwedenRail transport in Sweden uses a network of 13,000 km of track, the 20th largest in the world. Construction of the first railway line in Sweden began in 1855. The major operator is the state-owned SJ AB....